Matthew Kelly and Felicity Montague to Lead PRIDE AND PREJUDICE at The Marlowe Theatre

Matthew Kelly and Felicity Montague star in Pride And Prejudice at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, later this month.

This acclaimed production of the Jane Austen romantic classic is presented by Regent's Park Theatre and sold out at the London venue in 2013 and 2016. It is Regent's Park Theatre's third production to tour the UK (the others were To Kill A Mockingbird and Lord Of The Flies).

Matthew, who plays Mr Bennet, has appeared several times in the West End, as the original Stanley in Funny Peculiar - a role he had created at the Liverpool Everyman, in Waiting For Godot with Ian McKellan and Roger Rees, Tim Firth's play Sign Of The Times, the musical Lend Me A Tenor!, and as Lennie in the Birmingham Repertory Theatre's production of Of Mice And Men at the Savoy Theatre, where his performance won him the Olivier Award for Best Actor. His other most recent theatre credits include The Jew of Malta, Volpone and Love's Sacrifice for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Toast (Park Theatre), Twelfth Night (Liverpool Everyman) and The History Boys (Crucible, Sheffield).

Television work includes the award-winning thriller Cold Blood; Benidorm; Bleak House; Egypt: The Pharaoh And The Showman; MI High; Moving On; Marple; Casualty; Heartbeat, and My Family at War - although he is probably best known for presenting ITV's You Bet! and Stars In Their Eyes.

Felicity will play Mrs Bennet. Perhaps best known for playing the long-suffering PA Lynn in I'm Alan Partridge, a role she played in both the TV series and the 2013 film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Felicity was most recently seen playing Mrs Mainwaring in the 2016 film remake of Dad's Army. Other notable roles include Perpetua in Bridget Jones's Diary, Caroline Bosman in ITV's Doc Martin and Sue 2 in BBC's Nighty Night. Other film credits include I Want Candy and Confetti, and other television credits include The Durrells (ITV), Mapp and Lucia (BBC), and three series of Hank Zipzer (CBBC). On stage, Felicity has starred in Quartermaine's Terms alongside Rowan Atkinson (Wyndham's Theatre), The Shaughraun (National Theatre), and Angels In America (National Theatre).

Matthew and Felicity will be joined by Tafline Steen as Elizabeth Bennet, Benjamin Dilloway as Mr. Darcy and Doña Croll as Lady Catherine De Bourgh.

Tafline made her professional debut as Jess in King Charles III at The Almeida Theatre, before reprising her role in the West End and on Broadway. Benjamin has appeared on screen in Kingsman: The Secret Service, New Blood (BBC) and Silk (BBC), with stage work including Of Mice and Men (Birmingham Rep) and King Lear (Almeida Theatre).

Doña is best known for her screen roles as Vera Corrigan in Doctors (BBC) and Pearl McHugh in Family Affairs (Channel 5), with theatre credits including All My Sons (Birmingham Rep), Heresy of Love (Royal Shakespeare Company) and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Almeida Theatre).

One of the most universally loved and quintessentially English novels of all time, Pride And Prejudice tells the story of the Bennet family and their five unmarried daughters. A family of humble means, Mr and Mrs Bennet see the perfect opportunity to improve their social standing when the wealthy Mr Bingley and his eligible friend Mr Darcy move to the neighbourhood.

But while Bingley takes an immediate liking to their eldest daughter Jane, the dismissive Darcy instantly clashes with the Bennet's headstrong second daughter, Elizabeth. As the Bennet sisters haplessly search for love in Jane Austen's ultimate romantic comedy, it is Mr Darcy who unwittingly finds his match.

First published in 1813, Pride And Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in English literature, selling more than 20 million copies and spawning numerous adaptations, most notably the 1940 film starring Laurence Olivier, and the 1995 BBC adaptation starring Colin Firth. The Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Pride And Prejudice was first staged in 2013 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the novel's publication.

Costume design for Pride And Prejudice is by Tom Piper, who designed the iconic Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red poppy installation at the Tower of London, commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

Pride And Prejudice is adapted for the stage by Simon Reade. Simon is currently Producer for Filter Theatre, and was previously Artistic Director at the Bristol Old Vic, where he directed his own adaptations of Geraldine McCaughrean's Not the End Of The World and Michael Morpurgo's Private Peaceful, which has played in London and on tour extensively.

Pride And Prejudice is at The Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday 31 January to Saturday 4 February, with performances at 7.30pm, and 2.30pm on Thursday and Saturday. Tickets, priced from £20 to £34.50 (concessions available; booking fee applies) are from the Box Office on 01227 787787, or marlowetheatre.com. The 2.30pm show on Saturday will be audio described and captioned.

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